Bullpen Report: April 27, 2015
• Rough break for Adam Ottavino owners as he hits the DL with inflammation in his right triceps. Ottavino’s velocity had a sudden drop in his last two outings, and now we know why. Walt Weiss said “If we have the lead in the ninth tonight, it’ll be Axford,” so I would say he is the guy to own right now in Colorado. Rafael Betancourt will certainly be in the mix, but provided Axford successfully closes his next opportunity, it would be hard seeing Weiss look to Betancourt instead. Ottavino won’t necessarily be out for long but Verlander has been dealing with a similar issue since the start of the season. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as to Ottavino’s return.
• Steve Cishek was unable to hold the one run lead for the Marlins, blowing the save against the Mets on a three-run homer by Daniel Murphy. Cishek’s defense didn’t do him any favors after Marcell Ozuna allowed Juan Larages to get to second base on a misplay in the first at bat of the inning. Still, it was a poor performance for Cishek who saw his ERA balloon to 11.37 on the year. Cishek won’t maintain a paltry 23.3% LOB% all season long, but he’ll have to start getting shutdown innings to prevent A.J. Ramos and Mike Dunn from breathing down his neck.
• Miguel Castro gave up hits and runs for the fourth time in his last five appearances. Tonight he allowed three hits and a run to the Red Sox for his second loss of the year. Roberto Osuna blew the lead in the eighth inning and Brett Cecil has struggled mightily this year, so there aren’t necessarily great options behind him as a replacement. However, Castro is also a 20 year old rookie struggling lately with major league hitters. His raw stuff is immense and the there have been no talk out of Toronto aboutof Castro being removed from the closer’s chair at the moment, but Castro will have to turn this around if he wants to stay in Toronto, not to mention the ninth inning.
• Miguel Castro’s loss netted Koji Uehara the win tonight. Uehara has been a little more brittle and a little more hittable this year but he was effective pitching a perfect ninth with two strikeouts. Uehara’s velocity dipped a bit earlier this year but he was back at 87-88 mph against the Blue Jays, which is more in line with his recent years. Junichi Tazawa is ownable in all leagues, for ratio help alone, but his chances at saves are looking slimmer so long as Uehara throws like this.
• Andrew Miller converted his eighth save in eight tries tonight continuing his awesome start for the Yankees. I still don’t think Girardi has officially named a closer, but there is also no need when it’s this obvious. In 9.1 scoreless innings pitched, Miller now has 17 strikeouts against four walks, good for a 1.34 FIP/2.06 xFIP. Meanwhile Betances, who was expected to close at the start of the season threw another scoreless inning himself lowering his 0.00 ERA to 0.00. Betances has 17 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched with a 1.91 FIP/2.50 xFIP of his own. QuanGorMo was effective several years ago on the Yankees but the BetanMiller duo has that beat and is possibly the best set up and closer option in all of baseball, real or fantasy.
• Quick Hits and Tidbits: Jeurys Familia nailed the save for the Mets and is a perfect 9-9 in save opportunities since replacing Mejia as closer. Aroldis Chapman allowed several inherited runners to score but got two outs to end the game the only way he knows how, via the strikeout. Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis closed out the final two frames for the Royals tonight. There was no save situation involved but the Royals, particularly when Greg Holland returns, challenge the Yankees for the best relief combo in baseball. Zach McAllister threw 1.1 scoreless innings tonight, hitting 96.5 mph in the process. His stay in the bullpen could be a lengthier one and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him throw multiple solid innings out of the pen for the Indians and even inch his way up the pecking order in Cleveland.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
When he's not focusing on every team's bullpen situation, Ben can be found blogging at Ben's Baseball Bias and on Twitter @BensBias
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons revealed after Monday’s loss to the Red Sox that he would have used Brett Cecil as his closer had an opportunity arisen.
Miguel Castro has struggled lately, as he’s been scored upon in four out of his last five appearances and blown two save chances over that stretch. The 20-year-old took the loss on Monday, retiring just one of the four batters he faced. Cecil has been worse this season with a 7.20 ERA, but it appears that, at the very least, the two might be in a committee at closer at this point. “Ideally, we’ll get some defined roles,” Gibbons said. “Right now it’s really just kind of a crap shoot but we need to settle in and run with it and live with the results, is really the way we need to start approaching it.” Needless to say, it’s a less than ideal situation for fantasy owners.
I thought Gibbons said that final sentence for a minute, then I did a double take.
he recently said it is a closer by committee.
Gibs said tonight that if a closing situation would have come up, Cecil would have been in that role.
Should I pick up Dunn or Ramos? Also, can anyone here comment on Rizzo’s 5 stolen bases so far? His speed score on this site is at 6, when it was 3 the last few seasons.
Ben, how confident (if at all) are you in Cisheck turning this around or should I be looking to sell for cents on the dollar?
Velo down. Sell
Cishek for Axford selling too low on Cishek? I also own Ottavino for what it’s worth so theoretically I could ride Axford until Ottavino get’s healthy.
My other options are Brett Cecil who, much like Cishek, has lost heat on his fastball and has been knocked around so far. As well as Yimi Garcia who I like, but probably looses any Save chances by mid-to-late May when Jansen comes back.
Honestly, I’d sell. I wouldn’t trade him for Axford as I’d lean Cishek Save total over Ax but maybe pair him with another player for an upgrade. Then separately try to upgrade saves again.
I’d keep Axford until he implodes, and I’d look for Ramos not Dunn.
seriously – why is the NYM situation yellow?
and why is Yimi Garcia not even listed for LAD? he should be in their first or second chair, for the time being
might as well turn TB green while you’re at it…
Yup. Yimi seems to be #1. Peralta’s injury should drag him to #3 or off the list period.
I imagine the NYM scenario is yellow because if Parnell returns, the job might be his to lose. I’m not sure why Mejia is still listed on here AT ALL given that there are two guys probably ahead of him when his suspension is up.
TB is on lockdown, Melancon has tightened things up in the last few games (3 saves, WHIP of 0.67 and ERA 0.00 in the last 5 days) – certainly shouldn’t be red, at least.
Having Casilla/SF as green makes me wonder as well – given his poor K/BB ratio, ballooned xFIP.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Our mistake on LAD…Yimi will be there tonight.
Lets be thankful the Indians bullpen is awful.
20 team keeper leave – better future/present spec bench guy – Rondon or Tolleson?
I thought Daniel Hudson was next in line for saves, for the Dbacks?
Umm I think Castro is toast. Gibbons even said last night he was going to Cecil in a save opp.
So I looked at your last bullpen report before I picked up Batencourt and you had him as second behind Ottovino. How reliable are your seconds going forward? Do you evaluate each of your seconds before you publish this?
Our mistake. It was pretty 5050 for a while there but Axford should have been the #2. It’s the constant debate on being fickle on a daily basis, changing the order with the wind or sticking with what was previously.
I’ll be sure to update some of the second or third in line closers to tonight. We do our best and do check but will endeavor to do better for y’all.
Thanks. Cant ask anymore than that.
Small change, but it’s time to start taking notice of Arquemedes Caminero in the Pittsburgh bullpen. I would move him ahead of Jared Hughes. Watson is clearly the next man up, but Caminero is bringing some major heat.
Completely agree. Hughes is a good reliever but hes no closer